Because Dallas Mavericks owner Mark Cuban fired back at Bissinger via Twitter and suddenly a virtual war broke out. Cuban called Bissinger a "coward," the writer responded by calling the owner a "spoiled rich boy."

The two might meet face-to-face before tonight's Mavs-Sixers game in Philly, but that's not the point.

The bottom line is that Bissinger couldn't be more wrong when he writes things like:

Although basketball is supposed to be a team game, it has become more one-on-one in the NBA than a boxing match. The style has changed and it is a definite turnoff.

I also make a habit of asking every white sports fan I know whether they watch the NBA. In virtually every instance, they say they once watched the game but no longer do.

It boils down to this: Are whites losing interest in a game in which the number of white American players not only continues to dwindle, but no longer features a superstar? Yes.

Either Bissinger conducts his surveys at KKK rallies or else he's just writing for shock value.

Hey, over here! I'm a white guy. Have watched the NBA since 1980. And you know what? I still watch it. Still love it.

And, not that it matters, but the league is filled with non-black stars.

Back in 1981 the NBA's All-NBA Team (voted on by peers and coaches and media as the best five players in the league) was Dennis Johnson (Celtics), George Gervin (Spurs), Julius Erving (Sixers), Larry Bird (Celtics) and Kareem Abdul-Jabbar (Lakers). Yes, in case you forgot, Bird is white.

Now, if Bissinger's point is that there isn't an American white superstar like Bird in the league, point taken. But in case you haven't noticed, Nowitzki is doing a pretty good impersonation right here in our own back yard.

Did a little digging this morning and came up with my All Non-Black NBA Teams from 1981 and 2011. I dunno, if I was a white fan who only rooted for white players, seems to me I have as much reason to watch as ever.

Now, if I'm a white American who only wants to root for white Americans then, yeah, the NBA is not the place for me. But neither is the NFL. Or, for that matter, anywhere other than NASCAR or The Winter X Games.

Meh, stupid article just like Cubes said..nothing to see here..watching an all white NBA would be worse than the Wnba..I love Dirk, But that all star-all white team would get bounced in the 2nd round at best..when their depth and lack of lateral/vertical movement would be attacked. Bench of: JJ Baracho, JJ Redick, Z Ilgauskas, Matt Bonner, and KU chump 4/5 type.

Isn't the NBA also the way it is because one, basketball courts are much easier to fit, built, and maintain in urban and/or inner-city areas versus say an ice rink or baseball diamond, two, because all you need is one ball for a game and a pair of shoes as equipment, and three, the relative lack of minor leagues and the ability to shine individually from a young age and achieve the dream at an earlier point than the other sports?

Yes, I know it goes far beyond that, but those are contributing points. A gifted black kid of limited means is more likely to pursue basketball than the other sports, while gifted white kids may have more options to choose from. For every Kobe who grew up with affluent parents there's many more dudes that made the NBA coming from poverty or working class backgrounds.

White kids just don't grow up with hoop dreams quite the same, this isn't One Tree Hill. Basketball isn't THE sport for them, it's A sport.

If his theory is true, why isn't hockey the national pastime? Followed by golf, followed by tennis.

Today's players are, for the most part, jerks not because they're black, it's because they are talented, highly paid, famous and entitled. They take it easy because the NBA has such a grueling schedule. I'd be a lot bigger fan if they started calling traveling, fouls and goal tending. That's why I'm a big fan of the college game, which is 60 -70% black, over the NBA. I can't even get myself excited about the Rangers this year, even though they have so much promise.

^^^^white guy^^^^I don't really care the color of the guy honestly. I care about the team play and the guys playing. I purposely don't tune into Heat games because I can't stand what those guys did, not because they rebelled against white owners. From my experience you're not going to see a lot of great white kids playing basketball. They might love playing, but they and their parents understand that if they want to play in college, they'll focus on another sport. I'm not breaking news here that kids aren't as active as they used to be and inner city kids are more likely to be found on a basketball court than suburban kids are. You're a product of your environment. I don't root against Lebron because he's black, I root against him because of the attitude he's had. Racist? nah. Still a Michael Jordan fan and I like Kobe. Is Bissinger out of touch? Maybe not in his circle of friends, old white guys. They'll stick to watching golf and horse racing and have their "back in the day" stories. P.S. This type of blog post is nice every now and then. Thanks for putting 300% more effort into this post versus your typical 1pm posts.(saying that in a good way)

I predict this is going to have a lot of comments...Talking race brings them in. Good Job RW.

Although I don't agree with Bissinger that most white's are losing interest in the game (although I do believe that some have), I do agree that the NBA has become less of a team sport and more about the superstars. It does feel like it's one on one a lot of the time, and it is definetly a turn off.

It is challenging to get behind players that are basically double-digit IQ, punk millionaires with egos the size of the Hindenberg. I know that there are exceptions to this, but it fits the majority of the league's "stars".

In 10 years i think the list will be better. The euros are just getting better and better. If you put an international team together, it would rival American born players. Three Spurs starters aren't Americans and they have the best record in the league. The second best record is a team led by a German and an up and coming Frenchy.